[1] However, this was put off by the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, under which full-power broadcasting of analog television in the United States was set to have ceased after February 17, 2009.

[2][3] The delay to June 12 was to assist households on a waiting list for coupons for digital converter boxes, funding for which was provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

While full-power broadcasting ceased on June 12, 2009, 120 full power stations would maintain a "nightlight" service (under SAFER Act provisions) usually displaying a program about the DTV transition, ending no later than July 12, 2009.

[12][13] According to David Rehr, then president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, this transition represented "the most significant advancement of television technology since color TV was introduced.

WECT (NBC 6 Wilmington), a signal which in its analog form reached the edge of Myrtle Beach, could no longer be received by many who had watched the station for years—a victim of a move to UHF 44 at a different transmitter site.

[19] However weeks before, new digital-only WMBF-TV, a new NBC affiliate, came to the air to serve Myrtle Beach with a city-grade signal; like WECT, WMBF was owned by Raycom Media at the time.

[citation needed] On November 7, 2008, the FCC issued an order allowing distributed transmission systems (DTS) to be constructed by stations that otherwise cannot cover their original analog footprint with their new digital channels and facilities.

[20] While broadcasters may now apply for DTS facilities, this decision was made far too late to allow the extra transmitter sites to be constructed and operational before the original February 17, 2009, analog shutoff.

[25] While broadcasters were forced by Federal Communications Commission regulations to devote the equivalent of more than a billion dollars worth of airtime to public service announcements regarding the digital transition, the amount of information conveyed in these short advertisements was by necessity limited.

[citation needed] The maximum power for DTV broadcast classes is also substantially lower; one-fifth of the legal limits for the former full-power analog services.

Nonetheless, this limit is often too low for many stations to reach many rural areas, which was an alleged benefit in the FCC's choice of ATSC and 8VSB over worldwide-standard DVB-T and its COFDM modulation.

WDSU in New Orleans, Miami's WTVJ and WECT in Wilmington, North Carolina were among the most well-known Channel 6 broadcasters which used this approach to provide emergency information during hurricanes.

"[36] The Consumer Electronics Association set up a website called AntennaWeb to identify means to provide the correct signal reception to over-the-air viewers.

[citation needed] A Google-sponsored program called Free the Airwaves sought to use the "empty" white space within the remaining TV for unlicensed use, like for Wi-Fi.

[citation needed] On August 22, 2011, the United States' Federal Communications Commission announced a freeze on all future applications for broadcast stations requesting to use channel 51,[51] to prevent adjacent-channel interference (ACI) to the A-Block of the 700MHz band.

Later that year (on December 16, 2011), Industry Canada and the CRTC followed suit in placing a moratorium on future television stations using Channel 51 for broadcast use, to prevent ACI to the A-Block of the 700MHz band.

[54] To assist consumers through the conversion, the Department of Commerce through its National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) division handled requests from households for up to two $40 coupons for digital-to-analog converter boxes[55] beginning January 1, 2008, via a toll-free number or a website.

Under later amendments, stations could choose to end analog broadcasts before June 12 even if the bill passed, and any frequencies freed up by such action could be used by fire and police departments and other emergency services.

Many local markets, ranging from Burlington, Vermont and Sioux City, Iowa[88] to San Diego,[89] lost analog signals from most or all major U.S. stations.

Some stations in coastal regions such as Fort Myers, Florida had chosen not to wait until June 12 so as to ensure transition is complete before hurricane season.

[citation needed] On April 12, Nielsen estimated that 3.6 million households remained unready;[95] key problem markets (according to FCC and NTIA) included Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Fresno, Houston, Brownsville, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis–St.

Paul, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon, Tulsa, Sacramento, St. Louis, the San Francisco Bay Area, Salt Lake City, and Seattle.

The FCC would not permit the 123 stations in "at-risk" markets to proceed unless they certify with the agency by 6 pm ET on February 13 that they comply with eight additional requirements, including ensuring that at least one station that is currently providing analog service to an area within the DMA provides DTV transition and emergency information, as well as local news and public affairs programming ("enhanced nightlight" service) for at least 60 days following February 17.

It was believed Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Austin, and Dallas would be the least prepared markets, but this turned out not to be the case, as most of the difficulties were in the Northeast, primarily with stations that changed their digital frequencies from UHF to VHF.

It would require video service providers to offer a $10 basic package to anyone who lost at least one channel to the DTV conversion (with broadcasters waiving fees), pay for outdoor antennas (including installation) and extend the converter box program beyond July 31.

[124][125] Mike Doback, vice president of engineering for Scripps Television, said, "It's only now that we've found out the planning factors were probably wrong in terms of how much power you need to replicate analog service.

[121] Genachowski's predecessor Michael Copps called the process A huge transition with significant impact on consumers that was not until the last moment adequately planned for or coordinated.

Amy Brown, former CBA executive director, said, "some 40% of Class A and LPTV station operators believe they will have to shut down in the next year if they are not helped through the digital transition.

"[137] On April 24, 2015, the requirement for broadcast translator (TX) and low-powered (-LP) stations to convert by September 1 of that year was suspended, pending the then-upcoming spectrum auction.

[139] On June 21, 2021, the FCC granted the State of Alaska an extension due to novel factors that prevented the completion of stations' digital facilities, setting a new low-power analog shutoff date of January 10, 2022.